MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE NATIONAL POLICE CANINE
ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE BOARD
Newark, DE – Sunday, October 4, 2009, continued on Friday, October 9, 2009
ATTENDANCE:
Officers in attendance: President Terry Anderson, Administrative Assistant Katy
Farnsworth, Treasurer Mark Green, Secretary Greg Thomas, Southwest Region
Director Ralph Pendergast, North/Central Region Direct Eric Schmitz, South/East
Region Director Mike Colton, North/West Director Bill Delay, South/Central
Director Danny Valdez, North/East Director Mark Tobin, Standards Committee
Chairman Paul Koinig and Elliot Zibli (Friday meeting). The meeting commenced
at 1412 hours on Sunday October 4th and was continued at 1300 hours on
Friday, October 9th.
READING OF PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION: Approve minutes Secretary Greg Thomas read from the May 2009
telephonic meeting. The motion was discussed, voted on and passed
unanimously.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT:
1. Per executive order, insurance will be purchased by NPCA on all rental
cars for use during seminars.
2. President Anderson advised Diana L. Hoover of “Mayer and Brown”
law firm (Houston, TX) has agreed to provide pro bono legal service for
all NPCA business matters.
3. SWGDOG and NEDCAB (national explosive detector canine advisory
board) updates provided.
SECRETARY’S REPORT:
Several e-mails were distributed association-wide pertaining to elections and
soliciting candidates for open offices. The open positions were the NW Director,
NE Director, SW Director and Secretary. The nominations were as follows:
NW Region Director: Bill Delay
NE Region Director: Mark Tobin
SW Region Director: Ralph Pendergast
Secretary: Greg Thomas
Elections were again presented and discussed at the General Membership
meeting. No further nominations were made for any positions. Since candidates
for each office ran unopposed, they were installed in their respective positions.
MOTION: Accept Secretary’s report – Ralph Pendergast; Mike Colton second.
The motion was discussed, voted on and passed unanimously.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
As of September 22, 2009 we have a bank balance of approx $36,000.00 . This
does not include 2009 seminar costs. We have 2000.00 (included in the
36,000.00) in the officer’s relief fund and a CD that matures in may of 2010. At
that time it will have a value of 11,510.75
Mark Green reaffirmed that NPCA has full disclosure of our financial records and
directed any inquires to Katy Farnsworth.
The majority of monies taken in by NPCA are from membership dues,
certifications and merchandise sales. The majority of our expenses are incurred
by travel expenses for training.
MOTION: Accept Treasurer’s report – Danny Valdez; Mike Colton second. The
motion was discussed, voted on and passed unanimously.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
1280 Certifications thus far in the year, 1047 members
Member breakdowns: North Central-85 members, North East-45 members,
North West-56 members,
South Central-288 members, South East-197
members, South West-376 members
Cert breakdowns:
North Central-52 Certifications, North East- 101
Certifications, North West-82 Certifications
South Central-335 Certifications, South East-102
Certifications, South West-608 Certifications
MOTION: Accept Administrative Assistant’s report – Mike Colton second. The
motion was discussed, voted on and passed unanimously.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT KATY FARNSWORTH’S SALARY:
President Anderson presented written legal opinions from NPCA attorneys about
possible FLSA issues concerning compensation for Administrative Assistant Katy
Farnsworth. Concerns centered on the federal minimum wage and NPCA’s
current compensation. Proposals were presented and the following motion
resulted.
MOTION: Increase Katy’s salary to $9.25 an hour. Danny Valdez; Mike Colton
second. The motion was discussed, voted on and passed unanimously.
ADDITIONAL MOTION: Effective Monday, October 5, 2009, the administrative
assistant shall work a maximum of 40 hours per week as tracked on a written
timesheet. Timesheets will be kept accurately and maintained indefinitely. Any
potential overtime shall receive prior approval from the NPCA President. Danny
Valdez; Bill Delay second. The motion was discussed, voted on and passed
unanimously.
SWGDOG:
President Anderson covered current SWGDOG recommendations and possible
discrepancies with current NPCA certification processes. After significant
discussion, the following motion resulted.
MOTION: Charge the Standards Committee with investigating the current
differences between SWGDOG guidelines and NPCA certification standards and
prepare a report for the Executive Board. The motion was discussed, voted on
and passed unanimously.
REGION RECONFIGURATION:
Due to increased membership in the SW Region, Greg Thomas presented the
idea of creating a West Coast Region. The prospective region would encompass
California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii. Benefits of the new WC Region
would include better service to the growing California membership, better access
to NPCA for prospective members in Oregon and Washington, and opportunities
for growth through local representation.
MOTION: Create a new “West Coast Region” encompassing California, Hawaii,
Oregon, Washington. Take proposal to the General Membership meeting for
vote (which was subsequently affirmed via membership vote) and execute
changes to the bylaws to enable creation of a “West Coast Region.” Ralph
Penderast; Danny Valdez. Motion was discussed, voted on and passed
unanimously.
ADDITIONAL MOTION: (presented Friday subsequent to membership
vote/approval): Appoint Elliot Zibli as West Coast Region representative – Ralph
Pendergast; Danny Valdez second. Motion was discussed, voted on and passed
unanimously. West Coast Region Director will serve two (2) year terms and be
elected in odd years.
ADDITIONAL MOTION (via e-mail approval): Accept Glen Anderson (Rialto PD
– California) as the Standards Committee representative from the West Coast
Region. Motion was discussed via e-mail, voted on and passed unanimously.
STANDARDS COMMITTEE REPORT:
New SRT rules – add the following language to the SRT certification process:
1. Canine teams attempting SRT Certification must have passed an NPCA
Patrol Certification within the twelve (12) preceding months. If the canine
team attempting SRT Certification has NOT earned NPCA Patrol
Certification within the twelve (12) preceding months, ALL of the following
must apply:
a. The canine team must NOT have failed ANY Patrol Certification in
the twelve (12) preceding months.
b. The canine team must NOT have intentionally bypassed an
opportunity to complete an NPCA Patrol certification, nor elected to
complete an alternate Patrol certification when NPCA Patrol
certification was available.
c. The canine team must provide written proof (e.g. Certificate) of an
equivalent Patrol Canine Certification to the Certifying Officials.
Copies of written proof of Patrol Canine Certification will be
included with the Master Sheets for the SRT certification. The
Certifying Officials conducting the SRT certification have discretion
to reject equivalent Patrol Certifications presented for any reason.
d. The canine team attempting SRT Certification must be participating
in, or have documentation of completing in the previous 12 months,
a training course (minimum 16 hours) specific to tactical canine
deployments. SRT Certification must be conducted by a qualified
NPCA Certifying Official.
2. Suspected violations of any policies pertaining to SRT certification will be
forwarded to the Standards Committee for investigation. The chairman of
the Standards Committee may elect to suspend the SRT certification of
the party in question while the investigation is completed. The Executive
Board may revoke SRT certification at any time, for any reason, by
majority vote.
MOTION: Accept the amendments to the SRT certification as proposed above.
This rule is effective October 19, 2009 – Terry Anderson; Greg Thomas second.
Motion was discussed, voted on and passed with seven (7) votes in favor, one
(1) opposed (Bill Delay).
Human Concealment Amendments:
MOTION: Accept the amendments to the Human Concealment Certification as
proposed by the Standards Committee (above). Rule changes are effective
October 19, 2009 – Mark Green; Danny Valdez second. The motion was
discussed, voted on and passed unanimously.
Explosives Detection Certification:
MOTION: Minimum of 8 feet of det cord will be used in Explosive Detection
Certifications. This rule is effective October 19, 2009 – Danny Valdez; Mike
Colton second. The motion was discussed, voted on and passed unanimously.
Stay on Gunfire:
MOTION: During the Stay on Gunfire phase, the dog will remain in a
predetermined six foot diameter drop-off area. If the dog completely leaves the
six foot area, this constitutes a failure of the Stay on Gunfire This rule is effective
October 19, 2009 – Danny Valdez; Mike Colton second. The motion was
discussed, voted on and passed unanimously.
Add Language To The 2010-2011 Rule Book Requiring Region Director Approval
For All Certifications:
MOTION: As of October 19, 2009, all NPCA certifications must be approved by
the Region Director where the certification will take place prior to certification –
Greg Thomas; Eric Schmitz second. Motion was discussed, voted on and
passed unanimously.
o Applicants for Certifying Official/Trainer & Instructor
 Carl Abraham (NC)—CO for Patrol-tabled pending
completion of 10 building searches. Incomplete application.
 Robert Alvarez (SW)—CO for Detection-approved pending
certifying official class.
 Pat Callahan (NC)—CO Detection and Patrol – approved
pending completion of building search judging and having 6
years in K-9 as of January 2010
 Matthew Gourley (SE)—CO Detection-approved
 Brian Hale (NE)—CO Detection-approved
 Paul Hines (SW)—CO for Patrol and Detection and
instructor – approved pending completion of certifying official
class.
 Dave Hodges (NW)—CO Detection- approved.
 Jim Jeffries (SW)—CO Patrol and Detection, and Instructor
–approved pending certifying official class.
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Scott Kendrick (SW)—CO Patrol and Detection –approved
pending completion of CO class.
James Marlow (SE)—CO Patrol-approved
Steven Purse (NE)—CO Patrol and Tracking -approved
Christopher Vitale (NE)—CO Patrol, Detection and
Tracking –approved
Ken McCarthy (SW) – CO patrol and Detection – Approved
pending CO Class
Francis McDermott (NE) – Approved pending CO novice
numbers and CO class.
MOTION (Via E-mail approval): Approve above-listed applicants for their
respective positions as recommended by the Standards Committee. Motion was
discussed via e-mail, voted on and passed unanimously.
REGIONAL DIRECTOR REPORTS:
Each Region Director submitted written reports from their respective regions.
These were duplicate reports presented verbally in the General Membership
meeting.
AWARDS COMMITTEE REPORT:
Presidential Medal of Valor
Approved in spring of 2009 at meeting in Florida
Four were issued in 2009
Ricky Melrose, K9 Zip. Goodyear Police Dept. Az
Michael Powell
Cpl. Craig Mickel, K9 Butsch.
Officer Yoos, K9 Hano.
Quarterly Nominations
Receiving nominations from all regions
Receiving reports electronically
Lack Officers name
Lack K9s name
Lack mailing address
All nominations for quarterly awards should go directly to Bill Delay.
SALES AND MERCHANDISE REPORT:
Profit from Invictus Law Dog Conference, Las Vegas: $2,849.75
Profit from Hits Conference, Louisville, Kentucky: $2,721.79
Profit from online store: $2,918.16 (Jan 09-Aug 09)
Sold $1,982.00 in merchandise at the National Seminar. Shipping cost appx.
900.00.
ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION: To adjourn the meeting at 1653 hours on Sunday, October 4th. The
meeting was continued on Friday, October 9th. The Friday meeting was
adjourned at 1555 hours. Mark Green. Bill Delay seconded. The motion was
discussed, voted on and passed unanimously.
Submitted by:
Greg Thomas
NPCA Secretary
Gilbert Police Department
Gilbert, AZ